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Cupid's Kisses
The white of one egg, six ounces of powdered sugar; flavor with vanilla and stir until the thickness of icing; place small patches on greased paper in baking pan, sprinkle with either chopped nuts or grated cocoanut, and bake until a delicate brown.
— Mrs. Tremain Loud
A one-egg confection of the drop-meringue family, though the sugar ratio here is far higher than a modern meringue and produces a stiff, icing-like paste rather than a foam. A few notes before you start.
- The sugar ratio is the whole recipeSix ounces of powdered sugar to a single white is roughly three times what a modern meringue uses. The result is not a whipped foam but a thick royal-icing paste that holds its shape without beating to stiff peaks. Add the sugar gradually and stop when it mounds on the spoon rather than slumping.
- "Powdered sugar"In American books of this period the term usually means finely ground granulated sugar, not the cornstarch-cut confectioners' sugar sold today. Either works here; modern confectioners' sugar dissolves faster and gives a slightly softer, chalkier bite.
- Oven temperatureThe recipe gives none. A slow oven, around 275-300F, suits these; much hotter and the outsides colour before the centres dry, leaving them sticky. Note that the recipe does ask for 'a delicate brown', so some colour is intended.
- TimingExpect 25-40 minutes for kisses the size of a walnut, depending on how thickly you drop them. They are done when the bottoms lift cleanly from the paper. Leaving them in the switched-off oven to cool helps them dry through.
- Greased paperThe recipe calls for greased paper. Parchment works and needs no grease; a greased surface can let the paste spread.
- CocoanutGrated cocoanut in this period meant fresh coconut grated at home or unsweetened desiccated. Modern sweetened flaked coconut adds noticeable sugar and browns faster, so watch the last ten minutes.
- YieldAbout two dozen small kisses from one white. The recipe scales cleanly by the egg.
"Kisses" was the standard American name through the nineteenth century for small baked meringues, and cookbooks of the period ran through variations: almond kisses, cocoanut kisses, chocolate kisses, and coy names like this one. The appeal may well have been economic as much as culinary. A household that had used yolks for custard, sponge cake or mayonnaise was left with whites, and a confection built from one white and a few ounces of sugar turned a leftover into something to set out for company. Community cookbooks like this one, assembled from contributions by named women, are full of such thrift dressed up as a treat, and the recipe here is attributed to Mrs. Tremain Loud.